This invention relates to toilet seats and is particularly concerned with an elevated seat that is removably attachable to both standard round and elongated toilet bowls.
Toilet seats are common household fixtures. However, many people may have temporary or permanent physical impairments that make reaching the seat difficult. These people, particularly the elderly, may have difficulty utilizing the muscles required to safely reach the toilet seat, possibly resulting in harm to the user. Modifications to standard toilet seats have been created to attempt to ease the strain on those who are unable to comfortably reach a standard seat. While traditional modifications may be useful in some situations, they are not designed to serve multiple purposes, particularly those outlined below.
Some prior art toilet seats include handles that may be designed to steady a person who requires help in safely using the seat. However, these toilet seats are primarily designed to steady the user once he or she reaches the seat itself. These seats do not also steady the user while the seat is in use. Other prior art toilet seats have handles designed primarily for sanitary purposes. However, again, these prior art toilet seats do not aid the user both in safely reaching the toilet seat and in maintaining steady balance while using the toilet. Further, these prior art seats have handles that are permanently affixed to the toilet seat, which may not be desirable where a user is extremely overweight, or where he or she requires devices to aid in movement, such as a wheelchair. Therefore, there is a strong need for a toilet seat that can assist people both in reaching the toilet seat and in remaining steady while using the seat by providing multiple, removable handles designed to aid the balance of the user.
Other prior art toilet seat modifiers provide a raised portion to allow the user with physical impairments to reach the toilet seat with less exertion than that required by standard seats. These raised toilet seats ease the work required by assuming a standard sitting position. However, traditional elevated toilet seats do not provide handles for both stabilization while approaching the seat and while sitting on the seat. Further, the prior art toilet seats are oftentimes bulky and may be unstable, creating an even greater risk of injury to a user by not maintaining position on the toilet rim. Therefore, there is a need for a stable, elevated toilet seat.
Another problem associated with prior art toilet seats involves the difficulty in their installation and removal. Those with impairments may require assistance from others, many of whom may prefer standard toilet seats. However, traditionally, in order to stabilize the toilet seat, a user must affix the entire seat with a mechanism such as a bolt, requiring the use of tools whenever the seat is to be installed or removed. This added exertion makes traditional modified toilet seats impractical in households in which not all users are impaired. There is a strong need for a toilet seat that aids those in need, while at the same time is easily installed and removed without the need for tools after initial installation.
Further, many people who have difficulty with movement cannot easily reach other items associated with use of a toilet, such as tissue, medications or other toiletries. Traditional toilet seats fail to address this issue, as the bulk of the seat often prohibits the addition of receptacles designed to hold a user's necessary items. As such, there is a need for these items to be within reach at all times, creating a desire for a way to attach auxiliary items, such as a basket, to a modified toilet seat.
Accordingly, the present invention addresses these needs.